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THE 

OLD COURT HOUSES 



OF 



Ulster County, New York 



\vn IXTI-RESTIXG IXCIDKXi^ luaXECTED 
\\1TI[ THEIR HISTORY. 



An Historical Discourse delivered b}- 
Chaplain Roswell Randall Hoes, 
U. S. N., by invitation, before the 
Board of Supervisors of Ulster County, 
convened at the Court House on the 
36th of November, 1918, to commem- 
orate the Centenary of the erection 
of the present edifice. 



'Fl' 



THE 

OLD COURT HOUSES 



OF 



Ulster County, New York 



AND LN'TERESTING INCIDENTS CONNECTED 
WITH THEIR HISTORY. 



An Historical Discourse delivered by 
Chaplain Roswell Randall Hoes, 
U. S. N., by invitation, before the 
Board of Supervisors of Ulster County, 
convened at, the Court House on the 
26th of November, 1918, to commem- 
orate the Centenary of the erection 
of the present edifice. 



Kingston, N. Y. 

Freeman Publishing Company 

1918 



Author 



■■■■I 






I 






Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board of Supervisors, Daughters of the 
American Revolution, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

It is well to commemorate, even in this unpretentious way, the cen- 
tenary of the erection of this stately edifice. Standing as it does on 
historic ground, it is closely interlinked with the judicial, legal and civic 
life of our country, and silently encourages us to recall the scenes of 
which it has been a witness, as well as to tell the story of its predecessors. 
Let us, therefore, make the attempt. 

Old Ulster is one of the original counties of the Province of New 
York, and came into being by an Act of the Provincial Legislature passed 
on the 1st of November, 1683. On the same day "An Act to settle Courts 
of Justice" was approved which established Town Courts, County Courts 
of Sessions and Courts of Oyer and Terminer. The earlier sessions of 
these courts were held in the "Town House" in Kingston, and the first 
reference to the existence of an edifice for the especial accommodation of 
the courts, in so far as a diligent search has disclosed, occurs on the 4th 
of March, 1688/9, when "the commonalty of the Corporation [of Kings- 
ton] met in the County House to elect new Trustees, a Constable and 
Assessors." By a singular coincidence, on the same date, a lot of ground 
on the west side of the present Wall street was conveyed by the Town 
Trustees to Teunis Elysse* [Van Benschoten] which is described as 
located "to ye South of ye County House," thus proving beyond question, 
in connection with other well established facts relating to the contiguous 
pieces of property, that this County House, or Courthouse, occupied the 
same site as its successors, including the present edifice. This is an 
important discovery because, as far as known, there is no recorded 
instrument by which this property was ever legally and formally con- 
veyed to Ulster County or to its representative, the Board of Supervisors. 

The next reference to the courthouse, thus far discovered, seems to 
be on the 15th of January, 1701/2, when the Justices of the Peace of 
Ulster County made an allowance of £6. to Lymen Cool [Cole] for 
"making the County house," or, as will presently appear, for "worke to ye 
County house;" and another, on the same day, of £3. to Jacobus Lamaetere 
[Delamater] "for Labour to the County house." It may readily be seen, 
therefore, from these items that the building was probably but a humble 
affair, and doubtless adapted only for temporary use. Be this as it may, 
two years later, on the 7th of January, 1702/3, at a meeting of the County 

*Conveyances of Town Trustees, I., 115. 



4 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

Board of Supervisors, "The Supervisors Chosen as aforesd upon the 
Motion of the Justices for sd County about Repayring the Court house 
and making tlie prison sufficient, it is Resolved that after tlie Justices 
have Inspected about ye monys due for ye County, and after they have 
Imployed the mony due yt way, and what falls short upon View of ye 
Acct. they will take Care to order, that satisfaction shall be made by way 
of a taxe." This was signed by W. D'Meyer, Thomas Garton, Wessel 
TenBroeck, Jochem Schoonmaker, Mattys Ten Eyck and Abraham Du- 
Bois, supervisors respectively of Kingston, Marbletown, Foxhall, Mom- 
backus, (now Rochester), Hurley and New Paltz. A little more than 
seven months later, on the 28th of August, 1703, it is recorded that, at 
a meeting of the Justices of the Peace of Ulster County, "It appeares by 
ye Record that the County is Charged for Six pounds payd unto Symen 
Cool for worke to ye County house. The said Symen sayth that hee was 
agreed wth Coll: Jacob Rutse to Deliver four thousand singles [shingles] 
for £6.0.0 wch hee hes delivered to Coll: Rutse at Strand [now Rondout], 
and it appearing that Coll: Rutse hes disposed of part of said singles. It 
is Resolved that Coll: Rutse is to bee accountable for sd six pounds, and 
that other singles shall be procured for ye singling of ye County house 
and prison." On the 20th of the following October the Justices of the 
Peace "Agreed v/th Thomas Van Steenberge & Tennis Tappen to make 
the singles for ye County house & prison at ye Rate of twelve shillings pr 
thousand providing their Owne Dyett;" and at the same time it was also 
"Agreed wth Liftennt Hendrick Schoonmaker to bring a hundred zeader 
bolts from the Strand to towne for ye wch hee is to have nine shillings." 

Between three and four months later, on the 28th of January, 
1703/4, at a meeting of the County Justices of the Peace, a cljarge of 
£24.0.1. was allowed "ffor Repayring ye County house & prison." Early 
in the following year, {8th of February, 1704/5), a county charge of 
£3.6.6. was allowed to Colonel Henry Beekman "ffor Rum, Cedar Wood 
& nayles to ye County house," and also fifteen shillings to Jacob Peers, 
[Persen], "for 3 days Worke upon the County house and dyett." At a 
meeting of the County Supervisors on the 24th of the same month it is 
recorded that "It appeares by ye Acct. Computed by ye Supervisors the 
Last Yeare that there was raised by a County Rate for Repayring the 
County house & prison the summe of twenty four pounds sixteene shillings 
and one penny and the Charge thereof amounts to thirty one pounds, four 
pence & three fardings besides what was allowed to Coll: Beekman the 
8th day of this Instant, and upon View of ye particulars the Supervisors 
doe allow Every article mentioned as by ye acct. produced ffrom the 
treasurer John Cottyn doth appeare." 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUXTY, NEW YORK. r 

The only remaining reference to the courthouse, thus far discovered, 
before the aid of the Provincial Legislature was invoked, was the action 
of the County Court of Sessions, held on the 3d of September, 1707, when 
an indictment was presented by the grand jury against a negro named 
Pierro for a deadly assault upon Catrina, the wife of Hendrick Cortreght, 
[Kortright]. He plead guilty and threw himself upon the mercy of the 
court, which sentenced him to "bee publiqly Whipt upon yee naked back at 
Every Corner of ye towne of Kingstowne Tenn Strokes, and at ye County 
house likewise Tenn Strokes and yt the sd Pierro pay all cost and to 
Continue in Custody untill Such time ye sd cost bee payd." Poor Pierro, 
he doubtless deserved his fate, but the magistrates certainly were in no 
very merciful mood that day, and the slave's experience suggests that it 
is not always expedient to plead guilty and throw one's self upon the 
mercy of a court! 

An Act of the Provincial Legislature, passed on the 21st of July, 
1715, required the Justices of the Peace of Ulster County, or a majority 
of them, within forty days after the publication of the Act, to appoint 
by a majority vote "two able and Sufficient Freeholders of & Inhabiting 
in the said County to be Managers and Directors" for repairing the 
courthouse and prison, "now standing and being," within twelve months 
after the publication of the Act. In order to defray the "necessary 
charges" involved, the Act provided that such an amount of money as 
the Managers and Directors might deem necessary, not exceeding "Two 
hundred and fifty Ounces of good Mexico pillar or Sevill plate," (i e., 
silver), should be raised by county tax within the ensuing six months, 
and paid to the Managers and Directors. 

To what extent the courthouse and jail were repaired does not 
appear, but the structure evidently failed to satisfy the necessary require- 
ments of the county, and the portion of it devoted to the jail became in 
time so inadequate that the county sheriff in November, 1729, and Novem- 
ber, 1730, protested to the Court of Sessions "against ye Comon Goal, 
as not being Sufficient;" and the same official took similar action before 
the Court of Common Pleas in May, 173 0. The sheriff renewed this pro- 
test at a session of the latter court in November, 1731, and action was no 
longer deferred, for, at the same session, "The Justices present in Court 
on Behalf of The Inhabitants of this County Doe apply Themselvs To ye 
members of ye Genl. Assembly Of This County praying that they make 
Application To ye Next Generall Assembly To Procure an Act of Genl. 
Assembly for building a new Court house & Goal for this County, and To 
Raise a Sum not Exceeding five hund. Pounds on ye Inhabitants of This 



Q THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

County for That Use and To have Leave To Sell ye Old Court house & 
Goal & Lot of Ground To be Applyed for ye Use Above said." 

Accordingly, the first courthouse having outlived its usefulness, an 
Act of the Provincial Legislature was passed on the 14th of October of 
the following year, (1732), which, after reciting in its preamble the fore- 
going request and declaring that "the Court House and Goal in the County 
of Ulster is not only to Small, but much out of repair," empowered the 
Justices of the Peace, or a majority of them, to collect by taxation the 
necessary £500., "to the end so usefull and Publick a Designe may be 
promoted" — namely, the erection of a new courthouse and jail. In order 
that there might be no delay in building them, the Act provided that the 
money collected should be paid "from time to time" to a superintendent 
appointed by the Justices of the Court of General Sessions, and expended 
by him for material and labor. It also provided that this superintendent 
should give bonds for the proper disposition of the money coming into his 
hands, and authorized him to retain for his labors a sum not exceeding 
ten per cent of the funds collected for the purpose specified. The Justices 
of the Peace, moreover, were authorized to appoint a committee from 
their number to determine "how and in what manner the Goal and Court 
House aforesaid shall be made," as well as to examine and audit the 
various accounts for workmanship and materials, and to issue warrants 
to the superintendent for the expenditure of the funds in his hands. The 
Act also gave discretionary power to the Justices of the Peace to erect 
the new courthouse and jail on the site of the old one, or to sell the latter 
and the land on which it stood and to erect the new edifice on "a more 
Commodious Lott of Ground in Kingston." It may here be stated, by 
the way, that after mature deliberation the new courthouse was erected 
upon the site of the old one, where the present courthouse now stands. 

This Act also contains a provision relating to an incident of a 
startling and sensational character — one, it is to be feared, in no way 
creditable to the county. "And whereas," reads the Act, "in the year 
one thousand seven hundred and thirty a negro man Called Jack being 
convicted of Burning a barne and a Barrack with wheat in the said County 
was Condemned to be burnt for the same, but the Justices not being able 
to procure an Executioner to performe the sentence at the rate Limitted in 
an Act Entituled an Act for the more Effectual Preventing and punishing 
the Conspiracy and Insurrection of Negroes and other slaves, for the better 
regulating them and for repealing the Acts herein Mentioned relating 
thereto were obliged not only to hire one at a much greater price but 
Likewise to pay the price so agreed for and the same being as yet not 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 7 

raised by the said County. BE it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid 
that the supervizors of the said County shall at their next meeting or at 
their first meeting thereafter raise and Levy together with the other 
necessary and Contingent annual Charge of the said County such sum 
of mony as has been Actually payd by the said Justices in and about the 
Execution of the Said Negroe, and order the same to be payd to the 
Justice or Justices who so Payd and advanced it as aforesaid." The only 
known data throwing additional light upon the horrible execution of this 
negro is contained in the manuscript of a gentleman,* many years de- 
ceased, who expended much time and patience in collecting incidents relat- 
ing to the early annals of Ulster County. His exact words are here quoted, 
but upon what authority they are based diligent research fails to reveal. 
They are as follows: "About two o'clock in the morning of August 25, 
1730, Jack, a negro belonging to Albert Pawling, set fire to the barn and 
barracks of Captain Richard Brodhead of Marbletown. He confessed the 
crime, saying, 'when he first came from Wawarsing he went to the cook- 
room of Richard Brodhead and fetched fire and tried to set the barn aflre, 
but he missed that time, but the second time he took a brand from the 
house and burned the buildings.' He was burned 'To death and then to 
ashes' on the 29th of the same month at Marbletown by London, a negro 
slave of Johannis Low, who was executioner. The expense was twenty 
shillings." 

The sentence of Jack, although so brutal and inhuman, was legally 
justified by an Act of the Provincial Legislature which provided that 
negroes guilty of such and certain other crimes should "suffer the pains 
of Death in such manner and with such circumstances as the aggravation 
or enormity of their Crimes in the Judgment of the Justices of those 
Courts aforesaid, or as in the judgment of Seven of the said Justices 
and ffreeholders they shall merit and require." 

As though to stimulate the Justices to speedy action under the pro- 
visions of this law, the Sheriff, on the 8th of November, 1732, twenty- 
five days after its passage, protested to the Court of Common Pleas 
"against the Common Goal for the Insufficiency thereof;" and, meeting 
with no apparent success, renewed his protest before the same court at 
its following session, on the 2d of May, 1733. Action followed, after 
only a brief delay, and the Justices of the Peace at the next session of 
their court, held on the 7th of November of the same year, ordered that 
£20W. be "Levied On the Inhabitants, freeholders & Sojourners In the 

* Jonathan \V. Hasbrouck. (See biographical sketch in "Olde Ulster, January, 1905). 



8 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

County of Ulster," pursuant to the Act passed on the 14th of October, 
1732, "To be Employed Towards furnishing Materialls for the building of 
a Court House & Goal In sd County. Ordered that Jacob Ten Brook be 
appointed To be Mannager of Said buildings. Ordered that Coll: 
Abraham Gaasbeek Chambers, Coll: Wll. Ten Brook, Majr. Coenraedt El- 
mendorph, Mr. Cornelis De La Metre, [Delamater], Mr. Johannis Jansen, 
Mr. Christophel Tappen, Capt. Albert Pawling, Mr. Thomas Jansen, Capt. 
Zacharias Hofman, Mr. Moses De Puis, [Depew] ; Or any five of them be 
a Committee for the Ordering & Directing the Said Jacob Ten Brook how 
& in What Manner the Goal & Court house afore Said Shall be made. 
Ordered that the Said Money be Collected So That it may be paid to the 
Said Managers, at or before the first Day of May Next." 

There seems to be nothing to show whether these orders resulted in 
any speedy action; but in the following Spring, (8th of May, 1734), the 
County Sheriff, alert as ever, again "protests Against the Comon Goal 
Its being Insufficient." The following month, (22d of June, 1734), an 
Act of the Provincial Legislature was passed "for the better Explaining 
and rendering Effectuall" the Act of the 14th of October, 1732, by the 
provisions of which it became "Lawfull for the said Justices of the Peace 
or the greater number of them at any time after the publication of this Act 
to raise levy and collect * * * a Sum not exceeding the sum of 
five hundred pounds according to the Assessment last made by the 
Assessors for the said County or on any assessment by the Assessors of 
said County to be made to be levyed for the uses aforesaid." 

But serious obstacles seemed to present themselves, and apparently 
the provisions of this law and its immediate predecessor were not exe- 
cuted. Meanwhile, time dragged along, and the vigilant sheriff in the 
Autumn of 1734, the Spring of 1735 and the Spring and Autumn of 1736, 
made his usual protests to the Court of General Sessions that the jail 
was "insufficient." At the latter date, (4th of November, 1736), the 
court took the following action: "The Justices in Court have Issued their 
Warrants to the Respective Assessors in this County to Make An Assess- 
ment of all the Estates Real and Personall of All the ffreeholders Inhabi- 
tants Residents And Sojourners within their Respective Towns Mannors 
& Precincts, Returnable the first Day of December Next Ensueing. 
Whereas by Virtue of An Act of General Assembly passed in the Sixth Year 
of his present Majesties Reign Entituled An Act to Enable the Justices 
of the Peace in Ulster County to build a Court House and Goal for the 
Said County &c., the Justices were impowered to Raise a Sum not Exceed- 
ing 500 Pounds and Whereas about 200 Pounds is Already Raised, 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 9 

Ordered that the Remainder of the 500 Pounds be Levied on the Said 
Assessment." 

This action of the Justices was subsequently given an impetus by the 
Provincial Legislature, which, after protests from the Sheriff against the 
"insufficiency" of the jail, made to the Court of Sessions on the 6th of 
May and 4th of November, 1737, enacted a law, approved on the 16th of 
December of the same year, which afforded additional aid. Its preamble 
recited that the courthou.se and jail were in course of erection, but that 
in consequence of "disputes" that had arisen "concerjiing the manner of 
Raising the money" hitherto authorized by law, only £200. had been 
collected. The Act empowered the Justices of the Peace, or a majority 
of them, to raise by taxation for the completion of the courthouse "So 
much money," not exceeding £78. over and above the £500. already author- 
ized by the Legislature," as Shall appear to them already Lay'd out & un- 
paid." The Act provided, moreover, that £12. of this £78. should be used 
to defray the cost of the "Carriages for Five Great Guns which had been 
made by order of the Ju.stices. In order to enforce the assessment and 
collection of this sum, the law provided that any assessor neglecting to 
fully perform his duties under the statute should be fined £5. and that in 
case of any refusal to pay the required assessment the amount should be 
collected by "Distress & Sale of the offenders goods." 

Great bodies, the High Sheriff of the County alone excepted, moved 
slowly in those days, and in the Spring of 1738 the latter official 
presented his now customary protest to the Court of Common Plea.- 
against the condition of the jail that formed a part of the courthouse; 
and in the first week of the following May, (1739), the Court of General 
Sessions "Ordered that Captn. Edward Whitaker, Majr. Johannis Harden- 
bergh, Gerradus [Gerardus] Hardenbergh, Wessel Brodhead, Anthony 
Sleght, James Stringham, Peter Conteyne, [Cantine], Abraham Haasbrook 
and Johannis Vernoy Esqrs. or any five of them, [all Justices of the 
Peace], be a Committee pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly 
Entituled an Act to enable the Justices of the Peace in Ulster County to 
build a Court House and Goal for Said County &c.," passed on the 14th 
of October, 1732. At the next meeting of the same court it was "Ordered 
that Mr. Jacob Ten Broeck," who had been appointed "manager" of con- 
struction of the courthouse and jail by the Legislative Act of 1732, "the 
first Tuesday in June Next be Accomptable with the Justices yt was 
appointed Yesterday to be Committee or any five of them as to what 
Sum of Money he had laid out towards building the Court House and 
Goal in sd County." In the Spring of 1740 and of the following year. 



10 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OP ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

and on the Sd of November, 1742 the Sheriff renewed his protests against 
the condition of tlie jail before the Court of General Sessions, and at the 
meeting of the same court, held on the following day, "By order of This 
Court Mr. Tobias Van Buren, Abraham [Van] Steenbergh, Tunis Swart 
& Marinus Chambers, Carpentr. have This Day Viewed The Court house 
and Goals To Compute The Charges what the finishing The Same will 
amount To who all agreed That It was Necessary To Lay out for mater- 
ialls & workmanship the Sum of one hundred and fifty pounds. Ordered 
the Supervisors of This County be Desired To Raise That Sum for the 
use afore said and That they appoint Some person or persons To procure 
The Necessary materialls and Workman [sic] To finish The Same or 
Leave The Directions To the Justices of This Court or the major part 
of Them To Employ Such person or persons To find the said materials 
afore said and That the Clerk of the peace Serve The Supervisors with a 
Copy of This order." This action was followed eighteen months later, 
(3d of May, 1744), by the stereotyped protest of the Sheriff before the 
Court of General Sessions against the condition of the jail, which was 
repeated before the Court of Common Pleas on the lOtli of the following 
year, when the "Court Orders the high Sheriff if he finds any Insufficiency 
in the Goals to order it to be Mended, and that he must Charge the 
County for the same." 

The various amounts hitherto authorized by the Provincial Legisla- 
ture proved, after all, insufficient for their required purposes, and, 
either through indifference, neglect, inability, or, let us hope, some 
better cause, the completion of the courthouse and jail dragged along on 
its usual uncertain course until the 29th of November, 1745, when an 
Act of the Provincial Legislature was passed which gave the undertaking 
more impetus. After relating the Acts referring to previous appropria- 
tions, it authorized the County Supervisors to collect by tax as large a sum 
of money as, in their judgment, had been "already laid out & Expended 
& unpaid towards the Building the said Court House & Goal," not to 
exceed £100. Penalties were also prescribed for assessors neglecting 
their duties and for parties refusing to pay their assessments, similar 
to those prescribed in the Legislative Act of the 6th of May, 1737. 
Nearly a year again passed and, on the 18th of September, 1746, the 
faithful Sheriff, still refusing to be suppressed in the prosecution of his 
discouraging task, again protested against the condition of the jail to 
the Court of General Sessions, and repeated his action to the same court 
in May and September 1747, May 1748, September 1749 and May 1750. 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. H 

But, alas, other troubles impended! The course of the Ulster County 
courthouses and jails, like "true love," was destined never to "run 
smooth." "Accident by fire" caused the part of the courthouse devoted 
to the jail to become "insufficient for the Safekeeping of prisoners." 
Accordingly, an Act of the Provincial Legislature, passed on the 24tli of 
November 1750, empowered the Justices of the Peace of the county to 
require the Supervisors to raise by taxation a sum not exceeding £100., 
or as much of it as the Justices might deem necessary, for its restoration; 
and any Supervisor, Assessor or Collector refusing, neglecting or delay- 
ing to perform his prescribed duties under the provisions of the law was 
to be fined forty shillings for each offense and vacate his office. 

Fifteen years passed and the courthouse and jail faced additional 
troubles, for alterations and repairs had become necessary, and additional 
money to defray the expense was required. Recourse was accordingly 
made to the Provincial Legislature which, in an Act passed on the 23d of 
December 1765, stated that "the County House and Goals are in want, of 
Repair," that the Justices of the Peace of the county had ordered the 
courthouse to be "altered and completed," and that these same Justices 
"stand Engaged for the payment of Avhat is or shall be Expended by 
altering and Compleating the same, in Expectation that the charge thereof 
shall be Defrayed by the said County." The Act then required the Super- 
visors to order a sum not exceeding £100, "over and above the Annual 
County Charge," to be raised by taxation and paid by the county treas- 
urer into "the Hands of such Person or Persons as the Justices of the 
Peace for said County or the Major part of them shall appoint as man- 
agers," who were empowered therewith to repair, alter and complete the 
county building.* 

It is evident that the edifice of which we are speaking was totally 
inadequate to the requirements of the county. No farsighted policy had 
been adopted in its construction, and it proved a constant source of 
expense and annoyance. It is not at all surprising, therefore, that in a 
little more than seven years after the legislative enactment just described 
there was a repetition of the same old troubles. The Provincial Legis- 
lature again, and as usual, came to the relief of the County, and in an 
Act, passed on the 6th of February 1773, after stating that "the Court 



*It may lie inferred from this Act and other sources of information that at the 
time the Coiintv Building was divided into three parts — (1), the courtroom proper; (2>. 
the room or rooms used for other county purposes; and, (3), the different apartments 
of the jail — the latter doubtless l;eing located in the basement or cellar, as it certainly 
was at a later period. All of these several parts were apparently in various stages of 
construction or repair either simultaneously or at different times. 



12 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

House and Goal in Kingston * * are not only inconvenient, but 
greatly out of repair," authorized the Justices of the Peace and the Board 
of Supervisors to meet on the first Tuesday in the followir^ May at the 
courthouse, and required them at that time to decide "upc a the Manner 
in w^hich the said Court-House and Goal shall be altered and repaired 
and to compute the amount of the Charge and Expence that may attend 
the same," not to exceed £400., to be raised by a county tax. By the pro- 
visions of this Act Dirck Wynkoop, junior, Johannes Sleght, Abraham 
Low, John Beekman and John Eimendorph, or any three of them, were 
appointed commissioners to receive the funds raised by taxation from 
the county treasurer "for directing, manageing and inspecting the said 
Repairs, and for laying out the Money to be expended for that purpose." 
In case the proceeds of this tax should prove greater than necessary for 
its specified purposes, it was provided in the Act that the excess should 
be repaid to the county treasurer and be expended by the Supervirors as 
they should deem "most expedient." 

The money authorized by this Act still proving insufficient to com- 
plete the courthouse and jail, the Provincial Legislature again placed 
itself in the breach, and by an Act, passed on the 1st of April 1775, re- 
quired the Supervisors "at their next annual Meeting for raising the con- 
tingent Charges of the said County "to raise by taxation an additional 
sum, not exceeding £400., to be paid to the county treasurer and by him 
conveyed to the commissioners named in the Act of 1773, or any three of 
them, who should expend it in completing the courthouse and jail and in 
refunding money advanced by the commissioners for the same purpose, as 
well as to defray the cost of "digging and making a Well near the said 
Court House, and making such other useful and necessary Repairs" as 
the commissioners might deem "convenient and proper." 

And now, after all these vexatious delays and annoyances, that old 
courthouse was yet to face its greatest and fatal trial. Far more import- 
ant matters than county interests were now appearing above the horizon 
— and of such transcendent importance as to demand the devotion and, 
in many cases, the lives of the sons of old Ulster. Only eighteen days 
after the passage of the Act of the Provincial Legislature just described 
the shot at Lexington was "heard round the v/orld," followed in a little 
less than two months by the carnage at Bunker Hill. What cared, then, 
the patriots of this county whether or not their Temple of Justice was 
completed, when their liberties were at stake and their lives about to be 
imperilled by an invading foe? 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 13 

And yet in the brief remaining period during which the old edifice 
was to survive, it was destined to witness stirring events. Early in the 
conflict it figured conspicuously and proved itself of signal service to the 
Continental cause. The jail in its basement was desired for the incarcer- 
ation of disaffected and disloyal persons, far removed as it was from the 
doubtful and sinister influences of New York City, then in possession 
of the British; and the Provincial Congress of New York, accordingly, on 
the 21st of December 1775, "Resolved, with the consent of the members 
of Ulster county now present, That Ulster county jail or such part 
thereof as may be necessary, be used and taken as the jail of this Con- 
gress, and for the confinement of any such prisoners as may be ordered 
to be confined by this Congress or their Committee of Safety, that such 
prisoners as shall be there confined, shall be confined at their own ex- 
pense respectively, but if they are unable to pay the expense, then that 
they be confined at the public expense of this Colony." As might have 
been expected, Ulster county through its representatives complied with 
this request with its usual patriotic spirit, and its jail at once became the 
state-prison of the Province of New York, but intended not so much for 
criminals as for persons inimical to the Continental cause and whose lib- 
erty threatened to jeopardize it. Here were confined both prominent and 
obscure tories and British military prisoners; but its quarters at length 
were so over-crowded that it became necessary to establish, in addition to 
it, what was known as the "Fleet Prison" on board of one or more vessels 
in Rondout creek. 

But the old courthouse was to have still greater dignity conferred 
upon it. In the winter of 1776-1777 the New York Committee of Safety, 
then holding its sessions in Fishkill, deeming that village "too small to 
afford proper accommodations for the Convention and those who have 
business with the public," determined to move to a larger place. New 
York City was in the hands of the enemy, and Albany was too far re- 
moved from the scenes of civil and military activity. James Duane of 
New York and Robert Yates of Albany were, accordingly, selected to visit 
Kingston and Poughkeepsie with a view of making preliminary arrange- 
ments for the removal of the Committee of Safety to one or the other of 
these villages.* On the 31st of January, 1777, they reported to the 
Committee of Safety "in substance that they had conferred with the 
committee of Kingston, in Ulster county, and find that if the Convention 
should move to that place fifty members may obtain good accoramo- 

*The Secretary of the Committee of Safety was ordered to pay Messrs. Duane and 
Yates £6.14.1. to reimburse them the expenses attending their journey to Kingston, in 
Ulster countv, hv order of this Committee. (Journal of Committee of Safety, 7th of 
Feb., 1777). " 



14 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEVr YORK. 

dations. That the price will be twenty shillings per v/eek. That the 
court house, or a large room in the said building will be convenient for the 
Convention to meet in. That they had also inquired of several gentle- 
men at Poughkeepsie, and find that at least thirty members may be accom- 
modated in that neighbourhood; and that the gentlemen there informed 
them that the Episcopal church would be the most convenient place in 
Poughkeepsie in which the Convention could assemble." Unsuccessful 
efforts having been made to secure the selection of other places, Kingston 
won the prize, and, as will presently be seen, was destined to become the 
first Capital of the Empire State. The Committee of Safety convened in 
the courthouse in Kingston on the 19th of February, 1777, and was suc- 
ceeded on the 6th of March by the Provincial Convention which the same 
day ordered the committee selected to prepare "a system of a form of 
government," or constitution, to report on the 12th instant. This com- 
mittee had been appointed on the 1st of August, 1776, and consisted of 
thirteen members, among whom were John Jay, its chairman, Gouverneur 
Morris, Robert R. Livingston, and Colonel Charles DeWitt of Ulster 
county. 

This report was duly presented to the Convention on the 12th of 
March, 1777, and its consideration commenced at the courthouse on the 
following day; but had proceeded for only a few days when its deliber- 
ations were interrupted by the necessity of paying some attention to the 
personal comfort, and even the physical safety, of its members. This 
arose from the fact that the old jail in the basement of the courthouse 
was congested with prisoners and that sickness prevailed among them. 
Its sanitary facilities, moreover, were sadly defective and the offensive 
odors arising therefrom had become so intolerable that at a session of the 
Convention, held at the courthouse on the 18th of March, a resolution 
offered by Gouverneur Morris was adopted "that the members be per- 
mitted to smoke in the Convention Chamber, to prevent bad effects from 
the disagreeable effluvia arising from the jail below." Perhaps, as an 
additional incentive, Morris had in mind the thought, afterward so tersely 
expressed by Bulwer Lytton, that "the man who smokes thinks like a sage 
and acts like a Samaritan." However that may be, Morris could not carry 
through his resolution with unanimity. Four of the delegates 
from Westchester, six from Albany and four from Ulster voted in 
favor; while three from Tryon (now Montgomery county) and eight 
from New York opposed it, and the delegates from Dutchess and Orange 
were "divided." Finally the endurance of the delegates reached its limit, 
and they adjourned to the tavern of Evert Bogardus, an old stone struc- 
ture, from a time before the memory of any now living in this com- 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 15 

munity can reach, called the "Constitution House," occupying the site 
of the present residence of Mr. Myron Teller on the northwest corner 
of Fair street and Maiden Lane.* 

The consideration of the proposed State Constitution was continued 
with the care and earnestness that its importance demanded, and, having 
been concluded on Sunday, the 20th of April, 1777, was adopted the same 
day with only one dissenting vote. The Convention at the same session 
appointed a committee consisting of Robert R. Livingston, soon to be- 
come the first Chancellor of the new State; Gouverneur Morris, subse- 
quently our first minister to France; John Jay, about to be elected Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court of our State, and three others, "to prepare 
and report a plan for organizing and establishing the government agreed 
to by this Convention." It also ordered three thousand copies of the 
Constitution to be printed at Fishkill, that it be "published" at the 
courthouse at 11 o'clock in the morning of the 22nd of April, and that 
the inhabitants of Kingston be notified accordingly. The adoption of this 
organic law, fraught with mighty possibilities most of which have been 
realized, added singular lustre to this locality, and filled the hearts of its 
people with unwonted pride, happily ignorant as they were that in less 
than six months their joy would be changed into mourning by the ruth- 
less destruction of every dwelling but one in their now distinguished 
village. 

Before the blow fell, however, the old courthouse was to witness 
another incident of equally historic interest. On the 9th of July, 1777, 
the Council of Safety officially declared that "George Clinton, Esquire, is 
duly elected Governor of this State." His duties in the field at that time 
required his closest attention, but the Council of Safety, in an official 
communication of the same day, presented its congratulations and re- 
quested him to repair to Kingston "with all convenient speed" to take 
the oath of office. The exigencies attending his military operations, how- 
ever, forbade his immediate compliance with this request, which was 
repeated in a resolution passed on the 21st of July; and nine days later, 
on the 30th instant, he appeared before the Council of Safety and took 
the oath of allegiance to the State, together with his oath of office. 

The inauguration of Clinton took place in front of the courthouse at 
6 o'clock in the evening of the same day, and the ceremonies attending 

*For a reason now unknown, the Council of Safety adjourned on the afternoon of 
the 11th of October, 1777, "to meet again this evening at Elmendorf Tavern," the stone 
house still standing on the south-east corner of Fair Street and JIaiden Lane, diagonally 
opposite the Constitution House." It doubtless continued there tlirough its last session 
in Kingston. October 15th, the day previous to the burning of the village; at all events, 
it was convened there at the latter date. 



IQ THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

it, although unpretentious, were as dignified as became the significance 
of the occasion. By order of the Provincial Convention, the military 
companies of Captain Evert Bogardus and Captain John Elmendorph, 
"properly armed and accoutered," were paraded on the spot, and, amid 
the joyful acclaim of the assembled crowds, a proclamation signed by 
Pierre Van Cortiandt, President of the Council of Safety, was read declar- 
ing George Clinton "Governor, General and Commander-in-Chief of all 
the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of this State, to whom the good 
People of this State are to pay all due Obedience, according to the Laws 
and Constitution thereof." One may easily imagine the enthusiasm that 
pervaded the community that evening. Its inhabitants not only had been 
liberated from the yoke of British injustice, but they now witnessed in 
their already historic village the last act in the drama that sealed the 
sovereignty of their State. What wonder, then, that they rejoiced!* 

Upon the character and career of this truly great man and son of 
Ulster county we cannot nov/ enlarge. As a General in our War of Inde- 
pendence, seven times elected Governor of this State, and Vice-President 
under both Jefferson and Madison, his record has become an essential 
part of our state and national life. His earthly remains repose in j^onder 
churchyard, but his sturdy traits of character, his unselfish patriotism, 
his indomitable courage, his keen sagacity, his unfailing energy, and his 
wide influence for good in every sphere of his life and activity, remain 
not only as a stimulating memory and influence, but also as one of the 
most valuable legacies beuqeathed to our beloved country and state and 
county. 

Another historic incident connected with the last pre-revolutionary 
courthouse is of too great interest to be ignored. On the 3rd of May, 
1777, two weeks lacking a day after the adoption of the Constitution, the 
Provincial Convention, sitting in Kingston, elected the Hon. John Jay 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. This court came into 
being during the colonial period, but was recognized in the State Consti- 
ution, recently adopted, and held its first session under the new regime 
on the 9th of September, 1777. On that occasion the Chief Justice deliv- 
ered in the courthouse his first charge to the grand jury, which has 

*0n the exterior of the front wall of the present courthouse, near the door, is a large 
bronze tablet, erected by the "Colonial Dames of America," and unveiled and dedicated 
on the 15th of October! 1898, bearing the following inscription: "The Society of the 
Colonial Dames of America place this Tablet to mark the spot whereon was set in motion 
the Commonwealth of the State of New York on the thirtieth day of July in the year 
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven by the Inauguration as 
Governor in the presence of the Council of State of Major General George Clinton of 
Ulster, seven times Governor of Now York and twice Vice President of the L^nited States." 
A picture of this tablet faces page 210 of Vol. II of Olde Ulster. 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY. NEW YORK. 17 

happily survived to tliis day and is crowded with patriotic utterances, 
one of whicli is such a compact expression of the spirit of modern democ- 
racy now asserting itself so conspicuously throughout the world that it 
seems appropriate to repeat it. "Blessed be God," he said, "the time will 
now never arrive when the prince of a country of another quarter of the 
globe will command your obedience, and hold you in vassalage. His 
consent has ceased to be necessary to enable you to enact laws essential 
to your welfare; nor will you in future be subject to the imperious sway 
of rulers instructed to sacrifice your happiness whenever it might be In- 
consistent with the ambitious views of their royal master." This 
"Charge" v/as printed in pamphlet form the same year in Kingston by 
John Holt, "Printer of the State of New York." 

The most cruel incident connected with that notable courthouse was 
now impending, for in less than three months after Clinton's inauguration 
it was a hideous wreck. The people of Ulster paid most dearly for their 
patriotism at the hands of British vengeance on the 16th of October, 
1777, when, under the orders of Major General John Vaughan, the village 
of Kingston, the Capital of the State and one of the conspicuous strong- 
holds of Revolutionary endeavor and accomplishment, fell a prey to the 
merciless flames. It was a pitiful sight that greeted the eye on the eve 
of that October day. The gorgeous tints of autumn were painting the 
foliage on the neighboring hills, unmindful of the torch and flame, but 
nearer by the colors were of a dark and dismal shade. The strong stone 
walls of those once happy homes were still standing, but their roofs and 
interiors with such of their possessions as they could not carry away, had 
become food for the flames, while their streets were deserted and their 
inhabitants in flight. Over in the old graveyard the remains of the ancient 
Dutch Church with its massive tower told the sad tale of the day, while 
just across the street the bare and smoking walls of the courthouse bore 
silent testimony to the avenging hand of the invading foe. 

The destruction of the courthouse and jail w'as naturally a severe 
financial blow to the county, impoverished as it was by the vicissitudes of 
war, but then as now sturdy and resolute men lived in Ulster county, and 
in less than six months they took definite action to rebuild it; not, how- 
ever, until the Council of Safety, in a spirit of thrift and economy, em- 
ployed honest means to save an honest penny. On the 6th of December, 
1777, that body "Resolved, that Cornelius Duboys is hereby authorized to 
gather, collect and secure all the iron and nails in the ruins of the court 



18 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

house and jail of Ulster County,* lately consumed by fire, and which may 
be collected without further breaking of the walls; and that he render a 
true and perfect inventory thereof to the supervisors of the County of 
Ulster, at their next meeting, who are hereby directed and required to 
order a sum of money to be raised, in addition to the other necessary and 
contingent charges of the county, sufficient to pay the said Cornelius 
Duboys for his trouble, labour and expenses in the premises. "t 

The county had become impoverished by the war to such a degree 
that it was wholly out of the question to rebuild the courthouse and jail 
by taxation. On the 17th of February, 1778, Governor Clinton wrote to 
Andries DeWitt, Chairman of the Committee of Safety and Observation of 
Kingston: "I have already suggested to sundry Members of the Legis- 
lature the Propriety of rebuilding the Court House & Goal at public 
Expence & I have Reason to hope it will be done." The Legislature, 
however, adopted a different course, and granted relief by an Act passed 
on the 3d of April, 1778, which will doubtless seem highly sensational to 
those who are not aware that it was entirely in accord with the custom 
of the times. The preamble of the Act declared that "the court-house 
and gaols in the county of Ulster were destroyed by the enemy on the 
sixteenth of October last;" and the Act provided that "the judges of the 
inferior court of common pleas and the supervisors of the county of 
Ulster may by way of lottery raise a sum not exceeding two thousand 
pounds to be applied towards re-building the court-house and gaols of 
the said county any law of this State to the contrary notwithstanding." 

Private lotteries were forbidden in the Province or State pf New Yoi'k 
by laws passeed in 1721, '47, '72, '74 and '83, and both private and public 
lotteries were outlawed in 1833. The raising of money in this manner, 
however, for public improvements and religious, educational and benevo- 
lent enterprises was frequently authorized by legislative act from 1746 
until the close of the first third of the last century. Mention may be 
made, for example, of a lottery in behalf of the fortifications of New 
York City in 1746; King's College, (now Columbia University), in New 
York in 1746, '48, '53 and '56; the war debt of Albany in 1758; the city 
hall in New York in 1762; the Federal Building in New York for the 

*"An account of Cornelius DuBoys, amounting to twenty shillings, for collecting the 
parts of a stove belonging to or used by the late Convention of this State, from the 
ruins of the court house and goal at Kingston, and transforming the same to Hurley, 
was exhibited for payment. Ordered, That the Treasurer of this State pay to the said 
Cornelius Duboys, or his order, the said sum of twenty shillings, and take his receipt 
lor the same." (Minutes of Council of Safety, 12 Dec, 1777). 

tThe old jail must have been temporarily repaired with much speed, for Abraham 
Middagh, under sentence of death for disloyalty to the Colonial cause, addressed a letter 
to the Council of Safety, from the Kingston jail, on the 2d of December, 1777 — between 
six and seven weeks after the burning of the village. (Calendar of N. Y. Revolutionary 
Papers, IL, 312). 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 19 

accommodation of the United States Congress in 1790; the opening and 
improvement of state roads in 1797 and '98; the improvement of the 
navigation of Hudson river in 1800, '01 and '10; the Regents of the 
University of the State of New York in 1801; Union College in 1805, 
'07, '13 and '14; the Orphan Asylum Society of New York in 1809; and 
of Asbury African Church in New York City, Hamilton College, and the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City in 1814. 

This courthouse lottery was organized by Joseph Gasherie, Corneliu3 
E. Wynkoop, Christopher Tappen, Daniel Graham and John Nicholson, 
who were appointed by the judges and supervisors of the county to act as 
its managers. Its "scheme" contemplated the raising of £2,000., exclusive 
of expenses, "for re-building the court-house in Kingston, Ulster county," 
and was first published in John Holt's "New-York Journal, and the Gen- 
eral Advertiser" of the 25th of May, 1778. ;it provided for the sale of 
8,334 tickets, 5,552 of which were to be blanks, at $5. each; and the prizes 
ranged from one of $2,000. to 2,642 of $10. each. These prizes were 
subject to a deduction of fifteen percent on each successful ticket for ex- 
penses, and the drawing was duly announced to take place on the first 
Tuesday in September, 1778. Circumstances, however, compelled a post- 
ponement, and the drawing was finally made on the first Tuesday of the 
following December, the list of "Fortunate Numbers" being published in 
Holt's "New-York Journal, and the General Advertiser" of the 1st of 
February, 1779, and filled two of its columns. 

Although the law by virtue of which this money was raised provided 
that it should be expended for rebuilding both the courthouse and jail, it 
would seem that in the first instance it was devoted exclusively to the 
rebuilding of the courthouse proper. It was evidently not yet even de- 
cided whether the jail should be located in the courthouse proper or be 
a detached building, and it seems that the matter was still undetermined 
when an application was made to the Legislature for assistance. An 
Act was passed on the 26th of March, 1781, whose preamble reiterated 
the statement that "the goal in the county of Ulster was destroyed by the 
enemy," and which required the supervisors to raise by taxation a sum 
not exceeding £300. for building it. It provided that the supervisors and 
the justices of the peace of the county should select the most "conven- 
ient" place for its location, as well as determine its dimensions, "and of 
what materials the same should be built," and it was also stipulated that 
use might be made of "such and so many of the materials remaining of 
the old gaol as can be applied to the building and finishing the gaol to be 
built in pursuance of this act." The jail was finally located in the south 



20 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

end of the courthouse. It may be stated, by the way, that by an Act of 
the Legislature, passed on the 30th of March, 1778, the sheriff was author- 
ized to make use of the several jails of Orange, Dutchess and Albany 
counties, until the Ulster county jail should be erected. 

Additional money was required, and on the 6th of April, 1782, the 
Board of Town Trustees took the initiative and directed Andries DeWitt, 
junior, and Christopher Tappen, in consultation with John Addison, prin- 
cipal of Kingston Academy, to prepare a petition to the State Legislature 
craving additional aid. jit accomplished its purpose, and an Act, passed 
on the 6th of April, 1782, the preamble of which once more declared that 
"the court house and gaol in the county of Ulster was destroyed by the 
enemy," required the supervisors to levy a tax not exceeding £200. for 
"rebuilding the court house and gaol." It also required the supervisors 
and justices of the county to "meet at the house of Ann Dubois [DuBois], 
in the precinct of New Paltz," for the purpose of appointing three persons 
as trustees to receive the proceeds of the tax and "to superintend the re- 
building of the said court house and gaol." These trustees, moreover, 
were authorized "to make use of such and so many of the materials re- 
maining of the old gaol as can be applied to the rebuilding of the said 
court house and gaol." A subordinate preamble of the Act stated that 
"the Inhabitants of Kingston and its vicinity have procured a quantity of 
timber for the purpose of rebuilding the said court house and gaol," and 
its use was authorized, with the proviso, however, that "the same shall 
not be charged to the county." 

What remained of the walls of the courthouse and jail after their 
destruction by the British was finally restored and rebuilt and served its 
purpose for about thirty-five years. One of Kingston's most honored 
citizens and lawyers* who well remembered the structure thus describes 
it: "It contained family rooms on the first floor, court-room on the second 
floor. The Judges' bench was against the rear wall of the building, and 
behind it was a large frame containing the coat-of-arms of the State. 
The bar was directly in front of the judges' bench, with grand jury 
benches on one side and the petit jury benches on the other. An aisle 
led from the entrance along the jury benches and bar to the north wall; 
from that aisle back to the front of the building were the seats of the 
spectators rising one above the other as you proceeded back, so that the 
rear bench came within seven or eight feet of the ceiling. There were two 
jury-rooms on the same floor with the court-room. The jail and dungeons 
were in the south end of the building. The Court House was set back 



*The late Hon. Marius Sehoonmaker, on page 372 of his History of Kingston. 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, XEV; YORK. oj 

from the street about the same distance as the present one." Another 
authority! states that this courthouse was "disfigured by a great red 
kitchen on the north side, in front of which was a well used generally by 
the people, and making a sloppy, unhealthy spot. "J 

With the passing of the years and increase of the business, wealth, 
population and political and material importance of the county, the court- 
house that rose from the ashes of the Revolutionary period was deemed 
wholly inadequate, and a movement was accordingly launched to secure 
a new one. As an aid to this project, a meeting of the inhabitants of the 
town of Kingston was convened on the 1st of November, 1815, at the 
Kingston Coffee House, now the old Kingston Hotel on Crown street, to 
"take into consideration the propriety of erecting Public Buildings for a 
Court House, fire-proof Clerk's Office, &c." The chairman of the meeting 
was Col. Tjerck DeWitt, and Abraham Myer, a Kingston lawj-er and 
county surrogate, was its secretary. At this meeting Peter Marius Groen, 
Thomas Van Gaasbeek, Severyn Bruyn, John Sudam, Abraham B. Has- 
brouck, Benjamin Ostrander and Benjamin I. Moore were appointed a 
committee "to deliberate on the business of the meeting," and to report 
on the following Saturday. This was the initial step that resulted in the 
erection of the present edifice. At the adjourned meeting held on the 4th 
of November, this committee reported "that the present Gaol and Court 
House are not sufficient for the purposes intended by law, being insuffi- 
cient for the safe-keeping of Prisoners, and very inconvenient for the 
public purposes to which such building ought to be appropriated." This 
committee, accordingly, recommended the Board of Supervisors to petition 
the legislature for authority to raise $10,000 with which to erect upon 
the same site a new courthouse and jail with such public ofl[ices as might 
be necessary. It recommended, moreover, that the proposed Act should 
name the commissioners and authorize the supervisors to raise such a sum 
of money to erect the proposed edifice as both the committee and the 
supervisors should deem necessary to "complete the same substantially 
and beneficially for the County." This meeting of citizens recommended 
that Thomas Van Gaasbeek, John Sudam, Peter Marius Groen, Abraham 
Hoffman and Benjamin Ostrander be a committee to consult with the 

tTlie lafe Gen. Georee H. Sharpe, based on recollections of his father-in-law, the 
late Hon. A. Bruyn Hasbrouck. 

JAttached to the front of this courthouse was a wooden t.iblet. bearing the inscrip- 
tion: "KINGSTON BURNED BY BRITISH CRUELTY OCTOBER 16, 1777." It 
disappeared with the demolition of the old courthouse in 1817, and is believed to have 
been destroyed. At the meeting of the Ulster Historical Society, (which long aero ceased 
to exist), held on the 17th of October, 18.">9. Reuben Bernard, General Joseph S. Smith 
and Major Peter Van Gaasbeek were appointed a committee to search for this historic 
relic. At the next meeting of the society held on the 20th of March, 1860. General 
Smith, on behalf of the committee, reported that "so far he had not been able to find 
any trace of it." (Collections of Ulster Historical Society, pp. 19, 73). 



32 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK 

Board of Supervisors in regard to certain details of the project. Tiie 
action of this meeting was presented to tlie Board of Sjipervisors at its 
annual session held four days later, (November 8th), and its consideration 
was postponed until the 23rd instant in order "to consider upon the sub- 
jects themselves more maturely" and "to ascertain as far as possible the 
sense of the freeholders of the county on this interesting subject." 

In connection with the record of these proceedings, in the "Ulster 
Plebeian" of the 14th of November, 1815, was a communication which 
says In part: "All, we presume, will agree in the necessity of a more 
competent building than the present as a court-house and gaol. It is well 
known that the gaol has been repeatedly presented as unsafe by the 
Grand Jury of Ulster. This alone would be sufficient to satisfy the public 
that an appropriation of money for building a new court-house and 
gaol was necessary — no one will believe that the Grand Jury, under their 
oaths, and acting from an inspection of the prison, would present it as 
unfit and unsafe, unless they were fully convinced as to the fact. It is 
equally well known, that with the most careful keepers, the gaol is easily 
broken and criminals escape; and the money annually appropriated for 
repairs and for bounties in retaking the felons, is thus thrown away. 
The Court-House itself is inconvenient — there is no Jury Room with a 
fire place in it. There is none in the Court Room itself; and all Jurors 
who attend at the December term, feel the extreme inconvenience of the 
present building. The gaoler is also so situated, that it will be soon 
impossible to procure any one to inhabit the court-house. The gaols 
open into the hall, which communicates with the Dwelling room. It is 
needless to say, that in Summer the room can scarcely be used, and this 
is getting worse every year. There is another subject of great import- 
ance. There is no county in the State where papers of such consequences 
are deposited as in our Clerk's office, in which they have not a fire proof 
Office. It is proposed for the public convenience to connect the Clerk's 
Office with the court-house. All persons are interested in preserving these 
records; and it may be added, that a county of such substantial wealth 
as Ulster ought in her public business to display a taste which would 
combine security with beauty and durability. These remarks are thrown 
out that the citizens of Ulster may consider of the same, so that the 
Supervisors shall in some measure ascertain the opinions of the respective 
towns before their next meeting. And it is but just to remark, that what 
is now proposed, must at all events be done in a few years: Why then 
postpone the re-building of a Court-House and Gaol, while other objects 
of a public nature meet immediate attention?" 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUKTY, NEW YORK. 23 

The state legislature responded favorably to the requirements of 
the situation, and by the provisions of an Act, passed on the 12th of 
April, 1816, the supervisors were required at their next annual meeting 
"to raise the sum of one mill on the dollar * * for the purpose of 
building a court-house and gaol in the village of Kingston, in said county, 
and a fire proof clerk's office." The Act also required the county super- 
visors "annually thereafter, to raise such further sum of money, not 
exceeding in the whole the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, as shall 
be requisite to complete the said buildings, not less in any one year than 
one mill on the dollar, nor exceeding two mills on the dollar, in any one 
year." 

This Act constituted Jacob Ten Broeck, John Beekman and James 
Cockburn commissioners "to superintend the said buildings," each of 
whom was to be paid two dollars and fifty cents for every day's "actual 
attendance" upon the duties of his office. They were authorized, more- 
over, to receive and disburse the money raised by taxation for the erec- 
tion of the courthouse and its adjuncts,* to render an account to the 
Supervisors of all monies received and disbursed by them, and to deposit 
their joint and several bonds with the county treasurer in the penal sum 
of ten thousand dollars for the "due performance and expenditure of all 
monies which shall or may come to their or either of their hands." The 
Supervisors on their part were authorized by this Act, in case of death, 
removal or delinquency of any or all the commissioners, to fill the 
vacancy or vacancies thus occasioned. The Act also made it lawful for 
the commissioners, "by and with the advice and consent of a committee 
of three persons, to be appointed by the board of Supervisors of the said 
county, or the major part of them, to contract for the erection of the said 
buildings, in the whole or in part, and upon such terms as to them shall 
seem fit and proper: And the said court-house, gaol and fire proof 
clerk's office shall be built on the lot on which the present court-house 
and gaol are situated, according to such plan as shall have been previously 
agreed upon by the board of supervisors." This Act, moreover, placed it 
within the discretion of the Supervisors to postpone for one year the 
"raising, assessing, levying and collecting the tax to be raised for the 
before mentioned purposes;" and also conferred upon the sheriff author- 
ity "to use the court-house and gaol of the county of Dutchess, for the 
safe keeping of felons and other prisoners" of Ulster county; and when 
so used the former should be regarded as the jail of Ulster county, and 
its sheriff be liable for all escapes of its prisoners. 

*The courthouse, jail and county clerk's office were embraced in one building. 



34 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

An Act of the Legislature, passed on the 15th of April of the fol- 
lowing year, (1817), repealed the provision of the former law which 
authorized the commissioners, with the advice and consent of the com- 
mittee of three, to contract for the erection of the proposed courthouse 
and its adjuncts, and also revoked the authority of the Supervisors "to 
appoint commissioners in the place and stead of the commissioners 
named in the said act." This authority was, by this new Act, vested in 
"the person administering the government of this state;" and the appoint- 
ment of any commissioner hitherto made by the Supervisors was revoked. 
A few weeks later, early in June, 1817, the work of demolishing the old 
courthouse was commenced, t and on the 5th of the same month the 
prisoners were removed to the Dutchess County jail in Poughkeepsie.J 

It was not long, however, before the same old story was repeated. 
Additional money was required, and an Act of the Legislature, passed on 
the 31st of March, 1818, empov/ered the supervisors to borrow a sum, not 
exceeding tvv'elve thousand dollars, for the purpose of completing the 
courthouse and its adjuncts, and "to raise from time to time such sums 
of money, as shall be necessary to pay off the principal and interest 
accruing on such loan." The Act also repealed all previous legislation 
relating to the appointment and removal of the commissioners and their 
compensation, and provided that "hereafter, the power of appointing and 
removing the commissioners to superintend the building of the said 
court-house, gaol and fireproof clerk's office * * shall be exclusively 
vested in the supervisors," who should determine, at their annual meet- 
ing, the compensation the commissioners should receive. The Sheriff, 
moreover, was empowered by this Act to use the Greene county jail for 
the confinement of prisoners, "in the same manner as is provided in the 
acts hereby amended for using the gaol of the county of Dutchess." 

The courthouse and its adjuncts were sufficiently finished in 1818 
to accommodate the courts, but still more money was needed to complete 
them, and the demand was met by the Legislature in an Act, passed on 
the 28th of January, 1820, empowering the supervisors to borrov/ for 
this purpose a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars, and requiring them 
at the next annual meeting, and yearly thereafter, to raise a sum not 

tThe building was removed by Jacob Ten Broeck. (Hon. A. Brujn Hasbrouck, in 
"Collections of Ulster Historical Society," 1859, rage 19). 

JDuring at least a portion of the time, and pro'iably the whole time, after the 
demolition of the old courthouse, the courts were held in the tavern of William Dewaal, 
the large stone house still standing on the south side of North Front street, between 
Crown and Green streets; and the office of the county clerk was located in the residence 
of the deputv county clerk, Christopher Tappen, brother-in-law of Gen. George Clinton, 
on the south-west corner of Wall and North Front streets. ("Ulster Plebeian," Nov. 29, 
1817, and Feb. 21, 1818). 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 05 

exceeding two mills on the dollar in any one year, to discharge the prin- 
cipal and interest of the debt. In case such a loan should not be effected 
before their next annual meeting, the super\'isors were required by this 
Act to raise a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars "in the manner 
hereinbefore directed and prescribed." 

Such Mr. Chairman, is the story of our old courthouses, as far as it 
can be pieced together from various sources of authentic information. 
As to the present edifice, none of us, of course, can remember its birth, 
but some of us easily recall it in its maturity, while thousands of others 
have viewed it with admiration in its dignified old age. It stands on 
honored ground, hallowed by colonial, revolutionary and later associa- 
tions, and commands today our respect and veneration, not only in view 
of these significant reminders of other times but also as a monument and 
promise of legal, civil and political stability. Its walls have re-echoed 
with the voices of famous statesmen and orators, of eminent jurists and 
lawyers. During our Civil War, when it was the chief place of public 
assembly, it rang with the eloquence of men, irrespective of political 
creed, whose one chief thought was the preservation of the Union; and 
before and since that period it has witnessed the heated but honest 
rivalries of staunch political foes. You, gentlemen, forming as you do 
the legislature of this county, are the custodians and guardians of this 
venerable edifice. Well may you and your successors protect its every 
stone from desecration or destruction, for no more modern structure 
can appropriately take its place, except perhaps in the matter of interior 
convenience which may easily be remedied. The expenditure of unlimited 
wealth might doubtless result in a structure appealing more keenly to the 
commonplace and utilitarian atmosphere of the day, but no outpouring of 
treasure can produce an edifice which could command the approval and 
admiration of posterity to such a degree as the grand old temple of law 
and justice in which we are now assembled, which for quiet and un- 
affected dignity and harmonious architectural lines is probably excelled 
by no other building, used for similar purposes, in the whole of the 
Empire State. Thus it stands before us, the witness of honest days' 
labor performed by honest hands, a monument of impressive endurance. 
It presents no apology for its existence, but appeals to you and your 
successors for watchful protection; and if you and those who shall follow 
you are true to your responsible trust, the close of another century will 
see it still facing yonder hallowed graveyard where your Revolutionary 
sires repose, with its substantial walls unaffected by the ravages of 
time, a memorial to the discriminating taste and enlightened judgment 
of this historic county. (It is true that we may not, under all circum- 



26 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

Stances, feel ourselves obliged to regard every monument of the past 
with veneration, simply because it bears the stamp of antiquity; but when 
one presents itself that is a constant reminder of memorable deeds and 
noble endeavors, we may well pause before we permit a careless indiffer- 
ence to encompass its destruction. It would seem difficult to believe 
that this can ever occur in the case of the venerable edifice where we are 
now gathered, for there is certainly too much sentiment and common 
sense in Ulster County to permit such an historic monument as this to 
perish. 



ADDENDA 

TO HISTORICAL ADDRESS OF 
CHAPLAIN HOES 



28 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

I. 

Copy of Proclamation read at the Inauguration of George Clinton as 
the first Governor of the State of Xew York in front of the Court House, 
in Kingston, on the 30th of July, 1777. 

IN COUNCIL OF SAFETY 

for the 

STATE OF NEW YORK, 

July 30, 1777. 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, his Excellency, GEORGE CLINTON, ESQ., has 
been duly elected Governor of the State of New York, 
and hath this Day qualified himself for the Execution 
of his Office, by taking in this Council the Oaths required by 
the Constitution of this State, to enable him to exercise 
his said Office; this Council doth therefore, hereby in the 
Name and by the Authority of the good People of this 
State, Proclaim and Declare the said George Clinton, Esq., 
Governor, General and Commander-in-Chief of all the 
Militia,, and Admiral of the Navy of this State, to whom 
the good People of this State are to pay all due Obedience, 
according to the Laws and Constitution thereof. 

By order of the Council of Safety, 

PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT, President. 

GOD SAVE THE PEOPLE. 
KINGSTON: Printed by JOHN HOLT, Printer to the STATE OF NEW YORK. 



(See "Olde Ulster," 1905, page 184 ,and "Collections of the Ulster Historical 
soc'ety, " page 66.) 



f 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 29 

II. 

Congratulatoiy letter of the Minister, Elders and Deacons of the Old 
Dutch Clmrch of Kingston to George Clinton upon the occasion of his 
Inauguration as Governor of the State of Xew York, in Ivingston, on the 
30th of July, 1777, together with the Governor's reply. 

To his Excellency George Clinton Esq., Governor, General and Com- 
mander in Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of 
the State of New York: 

May it please your Excellency: 

At the commencement of the new constitution and at the very hour 
of your inauguration, the Minister, Elders and Deacons of the Reformed 
Dutch Church of Kingston, in consistory assembled, beg leave to con- 
gratulate your Excellency upon the highest Honors the Subject of a free 
State can possess and to assure you of the part they bear in the public 
happiness on this Occasion. 

From the beginning of the present war, the consistory and people 
of Kingston have been uniformly attached to the cause of America, and 
justify upon the Soundest Principles of Religion and morality, the glorious 
revolution of a free and oppressed country. Convinced of the unrighteous 
designs of Great Britain upon their civil and religious priviledges they 
chose, without hesitation, rather to suffer with a brave people for a 
Season, than to enjoy the luxuries and friendship of a wicked and cruel 
nation. 

With an inflexable perseverance which they trust the greatest 
adversity and persecution will never change, they profess anew to your 
Excellency their Interest in the Continental union and Loyalty to the 
State of New-York. 

While the constitution is preserved inviolate, and the Rulers Steer 
by that conspicuous Beacon, the people have the fairest prospects of 
happiness, unanimity and Success, with you they chuse [to] launch, that 
future pilots may form a precedent from your vigilance, impartiality and 
firmness, and the System obtain an establishment that Shall last for 
ages; for as nothing can be more agreable to the conscious patriot than 
the approbation of his country, so nothing can more promote the general 
good than placing confidence in established characters & raising merit to 
distinguished power. 



30 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

Take then, with the acclamations and fullest confidence of the public. 
Take Sir, the government into your hands and let the unsolicited voice of 
a whole State prevail upon you to enter upon this arduous task. 

All ranks in placing you at their Head, have pledged their lives and 
fortunes to support and defend you in this exalted Station, and the con- 
sistory of Kingston chearfully unite in the implicit Stipulation and 
promise you their prayers. 

As a reformation in morals and the prevallance of virtue is the 
immediate object of the consistory of Kingston, they esteem themselves 
especially happy in having cause to believe, that religious Liberty (with- 
out which all other priviledges are not worth enjoying), will be Strenuously 
Supported by your Excellency, and they congratulate themselves and 
the State, that God has given them a governor who understands and 
therefore loves the Christian Religion, and who in his administration 
will prove a terror to evil doers and an example and patron to them 
that that do v/ell. 

Signed by order of the Reverend Consistory, 

G. J. L. DOLL, praeses, [president]. 
(Public Papers of George Clinton, II, 161-163.) 

[REPLY] 
Gentlemen: 

While I receive with the highest Pleasure this Testimony of Esteem 
from your respectable Body and acknowledge with Gratitude the Honor 
which the Suffrages of a free People have conferred upon me; I cannot 
but express apprehensions of my Inability to answer the Expectations 
which they are pleased to form of me. It shall however be my earnest 
Endeavor by a sedulous attention to the important Duties of my Office, to 
meet their approbation and I rely firmly on Divine Providence and the 
Prayers which you offer to put up in my Behalf, to render my Services 
effectual in promoting the happiness of the People committed to my 
Charge. 

I agree with you Gentlemen in thinking that the Constitution gives 
the fairest Promises of Happiness. I shall study to preserve inviolate 
and thereby secure to the People those Civil and religious Liberties which 
it has with the utmost Liberality and Wisdom been attentive to establish 
and guard. And as unjust Suspicions and Fondness for Novelty have 
been ruinous to many States you justly observe that a Confidence in 
established Characters and the Promotion of tried Merit must contribute 



THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 31 

to the General Welfare. By this salutary Principle therefore I wish to be 
governed in the Part I have to take in the Distribution of Public Offices. 

Gentlemen, I cannot dismiss you without giving my public Testimony 
of the Patriotism of the Consistory and People of Kingston who in Imi- 
tation of their brave ancestors have shewn themselves worthy of the 
inestimable Privileges they enjoy by the Spirit and alacrity they have 
early and uniformly manifested in their Defence. May it please the 
Supreme Ruler of all Events to Crown them with equal Glory and Success. 
(Public Papers of George Clinton, II., 175, 176). 



Alterations and Improvements made to the Courthouse in 1897. 

At a meeting of the Supervisors, Dec. 15, 1896, the following reso- 
lutions were passed: 

Resolved, That there be appointed a committee of five in which the 
chairman shall be included, who shall have full power to receive pro- 
posals for enlarging the present Court House according to the plans and 
specifications submitted to the board at the annual session of 18 95, and 
award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder who shall enter a 
contract for the faithful performance of the same, in a sum not to exceed 
twenty-five thousand dollars for such extension. Be it further 

Resolved, That said committee shall consult with the different 
county officers interested, as to their requirements, conforming to their 
suggestions in endeavoring to meet the requirements of the different 
offices. Be it also 

Resolved, That said committee shall have charge of the work of 
said enlarging and extension, and shall see to the faithful carrying out 
of the contract, and it is also provided that in the alterations heretofore 
mentioned they shall not change or deface in any manner the architectural 
lines of the front or ends of the present Court House. (These resolutions 
were carried by a vote of 2 2 yeas against 1 nay). 

At the same meeting Eugene F. Patten, Harcourt J. Pratt, "William 
H. Kolts, William Fowler and John D. Fratsher, Chairman of the Board 
of Supervisors, were appointed a committee "to receive bids for extension 



32 THE OLD COURT HOUSES OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

to the Court House, and superintend the erection thereof," pursuant to 
the above resolutions. 

The contract was awarded May 3, 1897, and provided that the exten- 
sion should be fully completed by October 15, 1897. Owing to unavoid- 
able delays, it was not completed by that time, and an extension was 
granted to February 1, 1898. The original contract was for $21,887, 
and the extra work cost was $4,539, making the total outlay $26,426. 
The architect was Mr. Andrew F. Mason of Kingston. 



